SDSU’S BAKER COMES UP GOLDEN WITH 4X400 MEDAL

Medal count

Country G S B T

United States 44 29 29 102

China 38 27 22 87

Russia 21 25 32 78

Full medal count D10

YESTERDAY

San Diego State graduate student Keshia Baker was not part of the U.S. women’s team that ran, and won, the 4x400-meter relay on Saturday, but shortly after the race she tweeted this: “I just got a GOLD MEDAL!!!”

It’s not a bad deal. If you run a relay leg in the preliminary, then get replaced in the final, you still get whatever color medal your team wins. You just don’t get to stand on the medals podium as the anthem is played and the flag raised, instead receiving your medal in a private ceremony.

But Baker is hardly complaining. She is entering her second year in SDSU’s public health and social work program in the College of Human and Health Services. She lives and trains in Los Angeles, and commutes to school on class days. Sometimes she stays with a family in Oceanside; sometimes her father does the driving so she won’t fall asleep at the wheel.

“This is like nothing else,” Baker told the Eugene Register-Guard (she ran track at Oregon) after Friday’s semis. “It only comes every four years and people dream to be here. I feel blessed that I actually had the opportunity to run.”

TODAY

It’s the final day of competition, with an abbreviated schedule before the Closing Ceremony and one last chance for nations to move up the medal table.

The top spot, though, is already locked up. It belongs to the United States, which was in a close race with China through the first two weekend before gaining some separation when the track team decided to collect seven medals in two hours. By the end of the week, an American man (David Boudia) was even winning a diving gold.

Four years ago, China had more gold medals (51 to 36) but fewer overall medals (100 to 110). China, of course, declared itself the medal champion, and so did the Americans. Because, let’s be honest, does anybody really know what’s supposed to trump what: golds or total medals? Another thing: Should team medals count the same as individual medals, or be weighted to reflect the more people required to win them?

One way to solve the debate, of course, is to prevail in every category. Team USA has a 44-38 lead in gold and 102-87 overall over China, which has replaced the Soviet Union as its biggest rival.